A View To a Kill
by Neo the Magic Swordsman
Summary: Six months after thwarting his father's plans to 'save' the world, Pietro is back on the active duty roster. Can he stop another madman who threatens the existence of anyone who opposes him?
1. He's back!

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution and I am making no money from this fic, so please don't sue me.  
  
The sequel to Licence to Kill, is _finally_ up, and I apologise deeply for the huge delay, but I hope the story will more than make up for it. And trust me, it will be bigger and deadlier than the first story. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy A View To a Kill:  
  
**

A View To a Kill

**  
  
"How is progress moving on Cain?"  
"As can be expected Mr Trask. It will be finished by the time you wished."  
"Excellent." Bolivar Trask picked a heavy, leather-bound tome from the case where it rested. He was a tall man of middle years, with an angular face, thin wisps of dark hair turning grey at the edges covered his head and he had a neatly trimmed moustache. His eyes were a deep blue that captivated you the instant you looked into them; Cain had often thought that they had a kind of hypnotic power.  
Cain Marko was the opposite of Trask. Where Trask was thin, Cain was heavily muscled from years of training, his hair was cut close to his scalp and he was a lot younger than Trask. He was taller even than Trask as well, standing nearly seven feet tall.  
Trask opened the book and pressed a button that operated the p.a. system. "Brothers and sisters let us pray," Trask's voice echoed throughout the entire city. Cain dropped to his knees, as he knew all the other citizens would be doing, regardless of what they were in the middle of doing. To do otherwise meant instant death.  
"We thank thee, o Lord that you have shown us the error of our ways and delivered us safely from the hell that awaits unbelievers! We thank thee that you are a merciful Lord who, despite our inadequacies, gives us a chance of redemption. We thank thee that you are also a vengeful Lord, who will strike down our foes!" Trask's voice, which had started off at a normal level, had now risen to a feverous pitch, his eyes were blazing with religious fervour and spittle was frothing from one corner of his mouth.  
"Help us to remain free from temptation in this world full of sin! Aid us as we fulfil your commands, as we punish the wicked and the sinful! Amen!"  
"Amen." Cain dutifully repeated, as did everyone else in the city. Prayers over Trask switched off the p.a. system and wiped his mouth with a silk handkerchief, as Cain got to his feet.  
"Cain, we will shortly be leaving for the Temple. Ensure that everything is ready for my departure."  
"As you wish," Cain bowed his head and left. Trask gingerly replaced the book in its case, and sagged into the leather chair behind his desk. He toyed with an ornate knife on his desk as he considered all the plans he had laid in place. Should everything go correctly, in eighteen days the world would have changed. Whether it would be changed for better or for worse remained to be seen.  
  
The warehouse was a small and dingy affair, one of countless dozens on the waterfront. Perfect cover for an arms smuggler. Who was going to look twice at a warehouse full of crates? Especially when the user had paid off anyone who might have thought about taking a look around.  
"Alright get moving!" Alfonso Riveri was impatient to be off. He'd been using the warehouse as cover for the arms he was smuggling for almost two months now, and if there was one thing he'd learnt it was that in his trade habit shortened your career considerably. His lackeys began to pile the crates into the two lorries whilst Alfonso continuosly glanced at his watch. They should be able to get these weapons out of the country in under an hour.  
There was a sudden banging on the side door to the warehouse that made Alfonso almost jump out of his skin. "Hector, Eddie, check that out. If it's not someone with a reason to be here, kill 'em." Alfonso's two men grinned - they hadn't had any fun for a while. Hopefully it would be one of those homeless people that populated the waterfront.  
Throwing the door open, Eddie grinned. The person standing there was dirty and dishevelled - the overcoat they wore and their general unkemptness meant it was impossible to tell the person's gender. An eye patch covered the person's left eye and their hair was long and dirty. "What do you want?" Eddie growled in heavily accented English.  
"Sir, any spare change?" The person rasped in a low voice.  
Eddie and Hector exchange glances. "Sure we do," Eddie said, reaching into his jacket. Pulling out his pistol he expected to see a look of horror cross the person's face, but instead a smile flitted across the stranger's face. Just as Eddie brought the gun up the stranger kicked him, hard, in the crotch. Clutching at his wounded privates, Eddie watched as the stranger pulled a pistol out and blasted Hector in the chest, throwing him several feet backwards. Eddie tried to crawl away, but the stranger coolly took aim and put a bullet through the back of his neck.  
At the sound of the shot Alfonso looked up, expecting that Eddie and Hector would have had the sense to kill the intruder outside. What he saw made his blood run cold. Eddie and Hector were stretched out on the floor, blood leaking from their wounds, and a stranger was reaching into their overcoat. They pulled out a grenade and tossed it into the centre of the room, where it exploded and a cloud of white smoke billowed from it. Alfonso recognised it instantly as tear gas and made a dash for the stairs. There was a fire escape at the top of the stairs; if he could just reach it he could get away.  
Below him he could hear the sounds of gunfire and wondered what was happening. Most likely someone had panicked and was firing wildly, but he didn't care. As long as he got away, all was not lost. He had almost reached the fire escape when he saw the door open and a man walk through it. The man had short silver hair, a black suit on and walked with a slight limp.  
"Out of my way!" Alfonso shouted wildly, aiming his pistol at the man.  
"There's nowhere to run, Alfonso," the man stated calmly. "Your men are being captured as we speak, you've lost your shipment of arms, and even if you got past me there are people waiting for you outside. Drop your gun and come with me, and no one has to get hurt."  
Alfonso's only reply was to fire three shots at the man. The man threw himself aside and two of the bullets missed, whilst the third grazed his chest.  
"We have to do it the hard way then?" The man pulled a gun from his jacket and fired. Alfonso felt a sharp nick as the tiny dart his neck, then blackness obscured his vision and he lost consciousness.  
  
The silver haired man was leaning against the bonnet of his silver Mercedes ten minutes later, whilst the local police lead the smugglers away. His fellow operative, who had been disguised as the tramp, walked up to him. She had already got rid of the disguise and was wearing a black suit similar to the man. She had short, black hair and was almost as tall as the man.  
"I wonder why they never take the easy option?" The man said to her as she joined him.  
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Is it that difficult to figure out Quicksilver? They'd rather go down fighting than surrender. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong guys to try and fight."  
Quicksilver grinned. "We should probably get going, if we want to be back in London by this evening, that is."  
"Didn't Riveri shoot you?" the woman asked as she got into the car.  
"Yeah, but you know Hank's vest. Works like a charm." Quicksilver pulled out of the alley and began to drive towards the port, where a ferry waited to take them back to England.  
"How you feeling, you've been out for a long time."  
"I'm fine. Leg's not hurting anything like it used to be. It's good to be back."  
"It's good to have you back."  
  
I hope you enjoyed chapter 1, and believe me there's a lot more to come. Please review and tell me what you think.  



	2. An anniversary

Thank you for the review childrenwithblades, and I hope I've sorted out the formatting problem.  
  
**

Chapter II

**  
  
Charles Xavier leaned back in his leather chair. He had just finished talking to the Prime Minister and as usual his talk hadn't been about a good subject. It had only been six months since global disaster had been thwarted by Excalibur and now it seemed like they would have to do it again.  
He pressed the play button on his laptop, and watched the message again. "Greetings, my name is Bolivar Trask, true prophet of the Messiah. I bring you a message of salvation from my Lord, who truly wishes to have his flock return to him. All you have to do is to turn from your sinful ways, and embrace his salvation. I hold the key to your salvation. Should you place your country under the control of Genoa, the city of the Lord, then you shall be saved. But be warned, the Lord is vengeful. Fail to do this, and you will suffer. You have twelve days to choose: salvation or damnation. In twelve days, the unbelievers will be destroyed, and the believers saved."  
This message had been sent to the leaders of every country in the world, and Xavier imagined that in many cases it would be met with the same disbelief and sneers that the government had given it upon viewing it. The PM however, wasn't so sure, and so he had sent it to Xavier, who thought that the whole thing was both melodramatic, and worrying. Could this maniac be speaking the truth? No one had ever heard of Genoa, and the last time that Bolivar Trask had been heard of he'd been a nuclear physicist working for the US government in Malaysia.  
Xavier pressed the intercom on his desk. "Jean, were there details of how countries were supposed to join Genoa?"  
"Yes sir. In twelve days their leader is to recite a pledge of allegiance to 'the Lord' and to Genoa, apparently."  
"Thank you," Xavier turned the intercom off and steepled his fingers. Whilst this could simply be a huge hoax, it was too risky to trust that that was all it was. They needed to get some detailed information. "Jean, tell Hank to prepare the jet. I'm leaving for Peru today."  
"Yes sir." 

Bolivar Trask and Cain Marko stood in the control room of Genoa. The room was circular and filled with computers and technicians who were constantly monitoring hundreds of different variables. "Everything is proceeding as planned Cain. However, there is one detail I am worried about."  
"What's that?" Cain had never heard Trask admit that he was worried about anything. He always seemed so sure of himself.  
"Have you heard of Excalibur?"  
Cain furrowed his brows in concentration. "Wasn't it a sword, something to do with King Arthur?"  
"Very good. It is also a British group of elite operatives dedicated to maintaining world peace. Six months ago they were responsible for the death Erik Lensherr, and I have no doubt that they will do everything in their power to stop me."  
"They won't get far!" Cain cracked his knuckles, grinning malevolently.  
"I think you'll find that they are quite, persistent. However, I believe I have a way to stop them from ruining everything. When we get to the Temple, I wish you to do a complete overhaul of the security features. I want everything upgraded, double the number of guards and keep a very close watch for anything suspicious."  
"Of course, sir."  
Trask turned to the technician to his left. "The energy levels are stable? Nothing fluctuating too high, or too low?"  
"Nothing sir. All levels are stabilised. We're preparing for our first test."  
"Excellent. I will be in the observation gallery, should you require my assistance."  
  
Charles Xavier found the man he was looking for in a seedy bar, in a small town in the uplands of Peru. He grown a lot more facial hair since he had last seen him, and he was looking in far better shape - although to be fair when they had last seen each other he had just lost a lot of blood and was almost unconscious.  
As Xavier joined him at his table the man didn't even look at him. Instead he chewed the toothpick in his mouth for several moments, before grunting, "What do you want?"  
"And it's nice to see you again Logan." At the sound of his name Logan took a sharp intake of breath. "I need to ask you a favour."  
"A favour, hah!" Logan barked out a short laugh. "That almost made my day. Charles Xavier coming all the way here, to ask me for a favour." He shook his head. "You see that man," Logan said suddenly, nodding at a short, nervous looking Columbian sitting across the bar. "He's about to die, because someone else asked me for a favour. Thing is, they paid me for it."  
"I'm willing to pay you."  
"Ain't enough money in the world you could pay me to do you a favour. I've already helped you enough. I paid my debt to you last year, and now I ain't having anything else to do with you."  
"Logan, the whole world's in danger."  
"Not my problem."  
"How can you sit there and say that? Your life is in danger as well."  
Logan merely shrugged.  
"Fine, if you change your mind, I need to find out the whereabouts of a Bolivar Trask, within twelve days." Xavier turned to go, but Logan stopped him.  
"Wait. I must be going soft, but fine. This is gonna cost you big though."  
  
Pietro Maximoff and Hank McCoy were drinking beer in a small bar in London, absently watching the news. Hank took a swig of beer from his bottle and gestured at the television. "You heard about this guy, Trask I think he's called." Pietro shook his head. Hank lowered his voice. "Apparently he's a religious maniac, who's told the leaders of every country to repent and swear allegiance to him, otherwise they'll be destroyed in twelve days." Hank shook his head in amazement.  
"Really?" Pietro laughed.  
"Yeah, Jean told me earlier today."  
Pietro shook his head. "What's Charlie doing about it?"  
Hank grinned as Pietro referred to their boss in such a colloquial manner. "Left for Peru this morning. He's gone to get more information apparently."  
"Guess I'll be back in the field shortly then," Pietro finished his beer and ordered another.  
"How's your leg holding up, at the moment?" During the battle against Pietro's father, Erik Lensherr, Pietro had been shot in the leg and the wound had never entirely healed - he still walked with a limp.  
"It's doing great. Only hurts very occasionally. If I didn't have this damned limp I wouldn't know I'd ever been shot."  
"You're lucky that all you came out with was that limp. From what I heard you almost died."  
Pietro was about to answer when his mobile rang. He flipped it open, spoke a few words then closed it. "I gotta run Hank. Tonight's my anniversary and Kitty's just finished work. See you tomorrow." Pietro grabbed his coat and hurried out to his car.  
Hank glanced up at the screen just as the newscaster said, "World leaders gathered today in Tokyo to discuss the message from the man claiming to be the true prophet of the messiah, Bolivar Trask. Already doomsday cults have sprung up across the globe, claiming that the day of judgement has arrived, and rumours abound that some countries have agreed to swear allegiance to Trask and Genoa. We now go live to Jonathon Green in Tokyo," Hank shook his head and looked away. This whole business gave him a strange feeling and despite his earlier lighthearted comments about it, he couldn't help but feel worried.  
  
Pietro got to his apartment within minutes and he raced upstairs. He changed into his suit in a matter of seconds and quickly found the present he had bought Kitty. Just as he was adjusting his tie he heard her opening the door, and he quickly stuffed the present in a pocket.  
"I'll be changed in just a minute Pietro," she called as he heard her go into their bedroom. Pietro looked at his watch, they had plenty of time - their dinner reservations were for 8:30 and it was only 7:35.  
Kitty was changed within five minutes and as she emerged from the bedroom Pietro gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She was looking stunningly beautiful, she had let her hair down and it cascaded around her shoulders, she wore a black dress that complimented her figure without being too revealing, and she had on the silver earrings that Pietro had given her for their last anniversary.  
"Let's go, reservations are for eight thirty." Pietro led Kitty out to the car.  
"Where exactly are we going, you never did tell me?"  
"It's a secret," Pietro smiled mysteriously. Ten minutes later he pulled up outside the Vienna. Kitty raised her eyebrows as she saw where they were.  
"You got reservations here?"  
"Yep," Pietro opened the door for her, gave the keys to a valet.  
"At the Vienna? The most exclusive restaurant in London. I heard you have to be on their waiting list for a table, and some people never get off the waiting list their entire lives." A doorman held the door open for them and they went up to the maitre d'.  
"Table for Maximoff."  
The maitre d' consulted his list. "Very good sir. If you would care to follow me." They were led to a circular table near the corner and they took their seats. "Here is the wine list, a waiter will come to take your order soon. I hope you enjoy your meal."  
"So how did you get a table here?" Kitty pressed on.  
"Xavier pulled a couple of strings for me," Pietro admitted, with a grin.  
  
After the meal Pietro drove Kitty to Hyde Park. That sat beneath an ancient elm, wrapped in each other's arms, as the moon cast its silvery beams on the lake in front of them. "Do you remember our first date?" Pietro whispered. "We came here on a night like this."  
Kitty smiled. "Of course I remember it. It was the first time I realised that there was no one else I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." She snuggled deeper into Pietro's arms. "This night has been so perfect. Thank you, so much." Pietro responded by kissing her deeply on the lips.


	3. Soulsearching

**

Chapter 3:

**  
  
"I've been hearing rumours about some religious maniac who's trying to take over the world. Do I need to start worrying about you again?" Kitty asked as she lay in Pietro's arms in their bed.  
Pietro kissed her hair. "Don't worry about me, I haven't even been put on the mission."  
"But you're going to be, aren't you?" Kitty said after a pause.  
"Probably," Pietro sighed. "But hey, I'll be fine. Remember Switzerland? If my own father couldn't kill me then I'm sure some religious maniac won't be able to."  
"Can't you leave Excalibur?" Kitty burst out. "One of these days I'm going to watch you leave for one of these missions and never come back, and I don't think I can handle that."  
"Kitty, Kitty, shh," Pietro stroked her hair soothingly. "People need me Kitty. If I hadn't stopped my father, think how many people would have died. They need me."  
"I need you," she said quietly.  
"I know and I'll always be here for you. I'll always be here for you."  
  
Xavier looked at the information that Jean had just given him. Information that would prove vital if they were to stop Trask. "When Pietro arrives send him in," he said, hitting the intercom button. Fifteen minutes later Pietro was in his office.  
"You wanted to see me sir?"  
"Pietro, as I'm sure you are aware, a man named Bolivar Trask sent an ultimatum to the leaders of every country four days ago, claiming that he would bring salvation to everyone who put their country under the leadership of Genoa."  
"I've heard about it, yes. Though not the part about Genoa, is that some kind of country?"  
"From what we have gathered, Genoa is a city that Trask rules over, although no one is sure where exactly Genoa is situated. In fact no one has ever heard of Genoa.  
"But that is inconsequential. Pietro, I have managed to gain information that will be vital if we are to stop Trask from carrying out his plans."  
"How do we know this isn't all some huge hoax?"  
"Whilst this is possible, in the interests of world security we must treat this as a serious threat. We have information as to where Trask is right now. If we move fast then we can eliminate Trask." Pietro nodded. "Your job is to assassinate him."  
Pietro was taken aback. "You want me to assassinate him," he repeated slowly.   
Xavier nodded. "I know you were an assassin before you joined Excalibur, and I was hoping that your expertise would come in useful."  
Pietro sighed. "Before you found me I was one of the most infamous contract killers in Europe. But I gave all that up a long time ago."  
"This is completely different Pietro, this is for the good…"  
"Is there no one else?" Pietro interrupted.  
Xavier was taken aback by Pietro's abruptness, but he shook his head. "No one with your level of expertise. It's you, or we go for a completely different plan."  
Pietro sat in silent contemplation for several seconds. "Give me some time to think about it."  
"We've only got hours."  
"That'll be enough." Pietro dropped the dossier on the desk and walked out.  
  
Pietro left the Excalibur headquarters quickly, and it took him several seconds to orientate himself. He needed to go somewhere where he could think over his problem in peace, and then it hit him. He strode off purposefully, his mind in turmoil.  
It took him ten minutes of walking to reach an old, battered building. He pushed open the tall wooden double doors and entered. The interior of the building was beautifully decorated with tapestries depicting saints and stained glass pictures, at the opposite end of the room was an altar and the room was lined with wooden pews.  
At the moment the church was deserted, so Pietro knelt down behind the nearest pew and stared up at a stained glass picture that depicted Jesus on the cross. He'd never considered himself to be incredibly religious, but the priest who worked at this church had been indirectly responsible for him deciding to give up the life of a hitman, and maybe now he could find some peace here again.  
  
Trask settled into a high-backed leather chair in the centre of the observation gallery, Cain standing just behind him. Now was the moment when he would find out whether the past eleven years had been wasted or not.  
In the control room the chief technician silently prayed that nothing would go wrong. Trask was well known for his incredible temper and should something fail now, heads would roll. "Everything is prepared?" His assistant nodded. "Begin the initiation sequence." Technicians began activating their control panels and soon the initiation was complete. "Fire on my mark. Three, two, one, fire!"  
Trask leaned forward, eyes glittering as he watched the test go ahead.  
The control room let out a cheer as the test was completed successfully, and the chief technician wiped sweat from his brow. The chief's communicator beeped and he answered it. "Chief Morley."  
"Well done Chief. I am glad for your sake that the test was successful. Now we must leave for the Temple. Gather your staff and be ready to leave within the hour."  
"Yes, sir."  
Trask switched off the communicator. "Cain, ensure that everything is prepared for the journey." Cain bowed and left. Trask remained for a while, staring at the viewscreens that lined the walls of the observation gallery. He wondered how many countries would take up his offer, there were only eight days left now. He imagined what the world leaders must be feeling, and knew that somehow Excalibur would be getting involved. He would deal with them when the time came.  
  
Pietro was interrupted from his contemplation by a voice behind him, "good to see you again Pietro."  
"Father Lewis," Pietro turned around. Father Lewis was a short, thin man with a shock of white hair and a lined face.  
"It's been a long time since you were here," Lewis sat on a pew opposite Pietro. "Six years in fact. Something must be wrong."  
"How do you figure that?"  
"You're not a spiritual person Pietro. You wouldn't have come back unless something had come up."  
Pietro took a few moments to respond. "I can trust you, father?"  
"I will tell no one of what has passed between us."  
"Good," Pietro outlined his life over the past six years, his job at Excalibur and the latest mission.  
"I see," Lewis' expression told Pietro that he was finding the information rather difficult to come to terms with.  
"I gave murdering up six years ago. You saw me swear, in this very church, that I would never kill a man who couldn't defend himself. How can I break this promise now?"  
"This is a very different circumstance, Pietro."  
"Does that make it alright then? Is it all right to kill someone because I've been ordered to do it? What if this Trask isn't really any threat at all, what if it's some kind of hoax, and I end up murdering an innocent man?"  
"And what if you don't kill him and he ends up murdering millions of innocent people," Lewis pointed out. "Pietro you gave up your life as a murderer six years ago. If what you told me is true, you have saved countless millions of people from dying through your actions, and the people you have killed were attempting to kill you. What you have been asked to do is save the lives of more millions of people."  
Pietro nodded. "Thank you father." He rose to leave.  
"I'll pray for you Pietro," Lewis said as Pietro pulled the door open.  
"Thank you," Pietro said as he stepped out into the cold London evening.  
  
"Sir, Pietro's here to see you. He says it's urgent."  
"Send him up," Xavier turned off his intercom and let out a small sigh. Hopefully Pietro had seen reason - they had to strike soon, or the chance would be lost.  
Pietro opened the door slowly and sat opposite Xavier. "You wish to participate in this mission?" Xavier asked tentatively.  
"Yes sir."  
"Thank you, Pietro. Here is the file on Trask and all the information we have on him. If we relocate to the briefing room, we can begin the briefing."  
  
Thank you for your reviews DaemonRogue 13, oceanbang and childrenwithblades. I hope you liked chapter 3. 


	4. Positioning

**

Chapter IV

** "I have received information that Trask is in transit to an area codenamed 'The Temple'. I was unable to find out the location of 'The Temple', but I do know that he will be in a small village in south Italy tomorrow evening."  
"Wouldn't it just be simpler to plant a tracking device on him, and follow him to this 'Temple'?"  
"Possibly, yes, but the margin for error is much greater using a tracking device. If he is dead, then there is no worry that he can carry out his threat."  
"What about his subordinates, surely he's not working alone?"  
"That is true, and we don't have any information on them, but I believe that with Trask's death they will be thrown into confusion. It will buy us some time to launch a search mission for Genoa and hopefully remove the threat once and for all.  
"Trask will be in Lortia tomorrow evening, and I have put together a 3D map of the area." Xavier hit a button, and a three-dimensional plan appeared on the table in the centre of the room. "The town is only small, so it shouldn't be difficult to find a place to set up. The main street will be the most obvious route that Trask will take, but you'll need to be careful. Don't let him slip past you."  
"How do you know Trask won't just drive straight through here?"  
"Trask is planning to stop here to refuel, so that's not a problem. Hank will outfit you with all the equipment you need."  
Pietro walked over to the door, then paused. "How did you find all this out?"  
"I had an old friend do me a favour."  
  
Hank was listlessly tossing a small box from hand-to-hand when Pietro arrived. "Hey Hank, what've you got for me?"  
"Oh, of course," Hank stood up and returned a few moments later with a handful of equipment. He passed Pietro the box he'd been throwing around. "That's a laser sight targeting matrix. Good for up to a kilometre. It's also heat sensitive, so it'll show you your targets behind walls, or wherever they might be trying to hide." Pietro opened the box and saw a blue contact lens.  
"Matches my eyes, Hank," he grinned as he snapped the box shut.  
"This is your Sidewinder, folding-stock sniper rifle. It has a maximum range of about a kilometre, optimum range of 400 metres. It's wired up to the laser sight, so you get a target lock with the sight and the gun will be aimed perfectly. You've only got room for three shots though, so make them count."  
Pietro took the rifle and nodded. "Anything else?"  
"Just the standard ScarletFire Vest, your SigSauer P226 and your tooth mike and ear piece. You'll constantly be in touch with us, incase anything unexpected should come up."  
"Thanks a lot," Pietro took the equipment and turned to go, but stopped. "Hank, is something wrong."  
Hank didn't answer for a moment, and Pietro wondered if he'd offended Hank somehow. "I've been thinking a lot recently. I've got… a daughter - she's twenty-eight and we haven't spoken for the past eight years. All these constant threats by maniacs attempting to destroy the world, it makes me think that maybe I should go and see her before something happens to her. Thing is, she lives in Tokyo, so I'd have to take some time off work to go and see her."  
"If you've got to do something, you've got to do it. Making up you're your daughter is more important than work. You've got to go and see her."  
"Yeah, but what if we still hate each other. We had a massive fight when she said she was getting married to this guy I didn't approve of, and the next thing I knew she'd left the country. I was so angry that I didn't try to find her for a year or so, but my anger wore off pretty quickly. Thing is I've been so busy here, I haven't had time to go and see her."  
"You've got to do what you think is right, Hank."  
"Thanks. Good luck in Italy."  
Pietro nodded and left Hank deep in thought.  
  
The flight didn't take very long, but the drive took a long time, so it was almost midday on the next day that Pietro arrived in Lortia. With him was his friend Avalanche as backup should he get into any trouble, and a young man that Pietro had never seen before, who was apparently Hank's aid, called Forge. Hank apparently had taken Pietro's advice and gone to Tokyo to see his daughter.  
Forge stayed in the car, setting up the sensor equipment, while Pietro and Lance took a walk through the town. It was, as Xavier had said, only small, and there was only one real street that a car could drive down. They soon found the only place that could contain fuel for Trask's vehicles - a small station about halfway down the main road.  
"So you're here to get rid of Trask?" Lance said quietly as they stood in the middle of the sandy road.  
"Yep," Pietro nodded. "Were you ever asked to, assassinate someone?"  
"No. Why, having second thoughts?"  
"Not really, it's just that it doesn't seem right to kill someone, without them even knowing about it."  
"This is a matter of world safety Pietro. It's not like you're killing an innocent man. If you don't kill him, he could end up killing thousands of innocent people."  
"Yeah, I know. I just don't feel completely comfortable with it, that's all."  
"Think about all the people you're going to be saving, rather than the one person you're killing."  
"Hey, Pietro," Forge's voice crackled in his ear. "You need to set up position, Trask should be arriving soon."  
"Right," Pietro said and turned to Lance. "You head back to the car. If I need you I'll say so."  
Lance nodded, and shook Pietro's hand for luck before heading back to the car where Forge was. Pietro headed towards a small stone church that was at one end of the main street. Despite its small size, it had a tall bell tower, which would provide an excellent viewpoint for his job.  
He slipped inside and looked around. No one was in the church, so he quickly made his way to the stairs that led to the bell tower. He climbed them swiftly until he came to the very top, where he knelt by the edge and unfolded his sniper rifle. From his vantage point he could see almost the entire town, and had an uninterrupted view of the main street.  
"Forge, I'm in position," he whispered.  
"Excellent," Forge's voice was slightly distorted by static, but it was still clear enough to hear. "Everything's looking fine, all we've got to do is wait for Trask."  
"How long till he's here."  
"By Xavier's estimation, about twenty-two minutes."  
"Right."  
"Pietro, I heard what you were saying to Lance, and I can understand where you're coming from. It can't be easy to kill someone, especially not in cold blood. But you've got to remember that Trask doesn't feel any remorse. He's willing to murder millions of people to get what he wants. His death will save so much suffering and grief."  
"Thanks Forge," Pietro said sincerely.  
"No problem. Stay in contact, and if anything goes wrong get out of there immediately. Forge out."  
Pietro lay flat on his stomach as he rested his sniper rifle on the parapet. Once he was sure he had it steady, he flipped the switch to activate his laser sight, and suddenly his right eye became a targeting sight. He closed his left eye and lined his right down the barrel of the gun, taking a deep breath and then holding it. When he'd been a professional assassin, he'd found that if you were breathing during the shot it could easily cause you to miss, so every time he fired a sniper weapon he always held his breath.  
Satisfied that he was ready, he deactivated the laser sight and leaned against the parapet. All he needed now was Trask to arrive.  
  
Thanks for your review DaemonRogue 13, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! 


	5. If it were done when 'tis done

**

Chapter V

**  
As he approached Lortia, Cain could sense that something was wrong. He had a gut feeling, and that feeling had saved him plenty of times in fights. He briefly wondered if it could have something to do with the Excalibur people Trask had mentioned, but put it out of his mind. They couldn't possibly have known that Trask would be coming here.  
"Cain, ensure that the refuelling is completed as swiftly as possible. I don't want to be exposed for too long." Trask instructed.  
"Yes, sir." If anything was wrong, he would deal with it swiftly.  
  
Pietro watched as he saw Trask approaching. He had expected some sort of motorcade but all there was, was a single, unmarked truck. It was driving at quite some speed along the dusty lane and as a result a cloud of dust trailed it. It slowed as it came into the town and then pulled up alongside the station Lance and Pietro had noticed earlier. Several people got out of the truck but they were just faceless lackeys. Then a huge man in some kind of red body armour got out of the truck and began directing the lackeys.  
Pietro activated his laser sight and saw that there were three people still in the truck, one of whom had to be Trask. 'Come on!' Pietro silently willed Trask to get out of the truck.  
One of the figures suddenly got up and moved forward. Pietro was heartened when he saw that it was indeed Trask who emerged from the truck to converse with the giant in body armour. Laying the rifle flat on the parapet, Pietro began to take aim.  
  
"Sir, you shouldn't be exposing yourself like this. It's not safe," Cain argued, looking around him. He really had the feeling that something wasn't right.  
"Who will be here Cain, really? Even Excalibur aren't that good," Trask grinned humourlessly. "Besides I can't stand those infernal machines," he gestured at the truck. "I've got to get some fresh air."  
Cain was about to continue arguing, but one look at Trask's face told him that doing so would not be a smart idea. "Very well sir, as you say." Cain kept a careful eye on the buildings that lined the street. If an attack came, that was where it was most likely to come from.  
  
Trask moved slightly to the left after conversing with the giant, and Pietro smiled. He could take him down easily with a single shot now. He slowed his breathing as he lined the sniper rifle up with the side of Trask's head. A simple shot straight through the brain would kill Trask instantly. As his crosshairs lined up perfectly his breathing stopped and he tightened his finger on the trigger. But as he was about to pull the trigger, he hesitated.   
He watched Trask pull a cigarette from his breast pocket, put in his mouth and light it. How could he murder someone in cold blood like this? Trask wasn't attacking him - Trask didn't have a clue what danger he was in and he'd never know if Pietro pulled the trigger. Could he go back to be a murderer again?  
  
Lance and Forge watched on Forge's laptop, which displayed what Pietro's laser sight was seeing. "Why doesn't he fire?" Lance said incredulously.  
"I don't know, maybe he's had an attack of conscience or something?" Forge said desperately. He activated the mike that would connect him with Pietro's earpiece. "Pietro you have a clear shot, why don't you fire?"  
"I can't bring myself to do it!" Pietro said angrily back.  
"Pietro, remember all the people Trask is threatening!" Forge said, trying to remain calm. "Think about all the people you'll be saving! Do it for them!"  
"Right."  
Forge switched off the mike. "I thought he'd got over that. Damn good time for him to start growing a conscience!"  
  
Spurred on by Forge's last minute words of encouragement, Pietro tracked Trask as he moved back towards the truck. Thankfully he didn't get in, but stopped to talk to the giant. When he had his crosshairs settled neatly over Trask's forehead, Pietro took a deep breath and fired. The shot echoed like an explosion in Pietro's ears, and it took Pietro several seconds before he could release the breath he had been holding.  
  
One minute Trask was talking to Cain, the next minute all he heard was the sound of a gunshot being fired. Trask only had time to think one thought - he hadn't believed that Excalibur would have been able to find him here - before his body hit the dusty ground.  
  
Forge let out a whoop of triumph as he saw the sniper rifle fire. Suddenly the laptop screen went dark.  
"What happened?" Lance demanded.  
"Pietro's deactivated the laser sight, that's all." Forge turned on his mike. "Pietro, this is Forge. Great shot!"  
Pietro didn't respond for several seconds, but when he did his voice was full of urgency. "I didn't get Trask! Shit, I haven't got time to explain, just get here now!"  
It took Forge a moment to process that information, but Lance acted immediately. He hit the accelerator causing the car to lurch forward, then sped towards the church.  
"Did he say he didn't get Trask?"  
"That's what I heard."  
"How could he have not got Trask?"  
"I don't know!" Lance snapped. "Will you shut up! We've got to get to Pietro before it's too late." Forge obediently fell silent.  
  
Trask looked up and saw Cain standing over him, his back to Trask. 'Why had Cain just shoved him to the floor?' Trask stood up slowly, and suddenly noticed that blood was leaking through the chest plate of Cain's armour, and dripping onto the dusty floor.  
"Cain! Are you alright?"  
"Church," Cain mumbled.  
"What?"  
"In the church."  
Trask suddenly understood. He pointed at two of his men, "To the church, now! There's an assassin in there, kill him!" He turned back to Cain, who had fallen to one knee. "Cain, are you alright?" He repeated.  
"I'm… fine." He was clutching his chest, just below his left lung.  
"Cain, can you hold on till we reach the Temple?"  
"I don't know… I'll try."  
  
Pietro sprinted down the stairs from the bell tower, attempting to fold the Sidewinder as he went. He still couldn't believe what had happened. He'd fired at Trask, and as he fired the giant had knocked Trask out of the way and taken the bullet. Knowing that he had to move before he was caught, Pietro hadn't had a chance for a second shot. Hearing the sound of a car outside and prayed that it was Lance.  
He was almost at ground floor level when he heard the church doors opening. Reaching the bottom of the stairs he swore when he saw that it was Trask's men. As quietly as he could, he crept behind one of the pillars and pulled his SigSauer from its holster.  
Hearing the men split up, and one come towards him he suddenly spun around the column, took aim and fired. One of the men was hurled back, a gaping wound in his chest. The other opened fire with his machine gun, spraying bullets at Pietro.  
Pietro dove behind a row of pews and began to crawl towards another pillar. The man was still wildly firing bullets, most of which were going over Pietro's head, although one barely scraped his forehead.  
Reaching the pillar, Pietro crawled behind it. He pulled a spare clip for his SigSauer from his belt and threw it as hard as he could at the far wall of the church. As it hit the wall, the gunman opened fire and Pietro dived out from behind the pillar, firing as he went. The man convulsed and then collapsed.  
Pietro grabbed the man's machine gun from his lifeless hand and listened. He couldn't hear the car anymore, but he couldn't hear anyone outside either. He cautiously opened the church doors, then ducked his head back as Trask and his men opened fire. 'Where the hell was Lance?'  
Suddenly the roar of an engine filled the street and Pietro threw the church door open in time to see Lance pull up outside. He threw himself forward and hurriedly pulled open the door, as bullets rained all around him. Lance turned the car one eighty degrees and floored the accelerator. They suddenly swerved left and sped off down a small lane. After five minutes, satisfied they weren't being followed they stopped.  
"Pietro, what the hell happened back there?" Lance said.  
  
"Should we go after them, sir? Sir?"  
"No, we must go to the Temple, now!"  
"But couldn't they follow us there sir?"  
"Not in that car, look. Their fuel tank must have been hit, because they're leaking petrol," Trask waved a hand at a trail of black fluid on the road.  
"Then couldn't we follow them and deal with them?"  
"No. We must get to the Temple. Only there can we save Cain. Now let's go!"  
"Yes, sir!" Trask's men hurriedly got into the truck, as did Trask, and the driver hit the accelerator, speeding off towards the distant Temple.  
  
"So this guy, he just jumped in front of Trask? Without knowing where the shot was coming from?"  
"That's what I saw."  
"That's impossible," Forge said bluntly.  
"I know that," Pietro said irritably. "But that's what happened."  
"Then we should follow them back to their base," Forge said. "We can't just leave empty-handed."  
"Well, we won't be doing that in this car," Lance spoke up.  
"Why not?" Forge and Pietro turned to face him.  
"Because we're nearly out of fuel."  
"How's that possible?" Pietro asked as Forge opened the car door and went to look at the rear of the car. He came back a minute later, cursing under his breath.  
"One of their bullets must have hit the tank, 'cause petrol's leaking out and by the looks of it has been doing for quite some time."  
"Great," Pietro said. "Not only did I fail to kill Trask, but we also can't follow him, because we're out of petrol."  
"Now what do we do?" Forge asked.  
"What can we do? Call Xavier, and get him to get us out of here  
  
Thank you very much for your reviews DaemonRogue 13 and oceanbang, they were greatly appreciated! :) 


	6. Baptism of Fire

**

Chapter VI

** Pietro sat opposite Xavier in the briefing room, recounting the events that had taken place in Lortia. Xavier listened in silence, occasionally making a note on the paper he had in front of him. When Pietro had finished, Xavier leaned back in his chair and regarded Pietro for a few moments.  
"From what you, Lance and Forge have told me, you seem to have done everything in your power to carry out this mission. It was just bad luck that stopped you from assassinating Trask. It is as much my fault as it is yours - I should have found out about Trask's accomplices and warned you about them."  
"But if I hadn't hesitated before firing Trask could be dead now and we wouldn't have anything to worry about."  
"You don't know that. Trask's accomplice seems to have been gifted with an impressive sixth sense. He could have saved Trask whenever you fired. The reason you failed to carry out the mission was out of your control, you did the best you could. Now I suggest you return home and get some rest."  
"What about Trask?"  
"I will decide on our next course of action depending on what occurs now. The deadline that Trask set for the countries to join Genoa is tomorrow, so we must see whether Trask will make good on his threats. When you're needed, you'll get a call. Until then get some rest, and don't keep blaming yourself. You did everything that you could do."  
  
It had taken Hank a long time to get through security at the airport in Tokyo; security had been increased due to the meeting of world leaders. As he got out of the airport he looked at the piece of paper that had his daughter's address on it and wondered, not for the first time, whether he was doing the right thing. What would happen when he met his daughter? A lot of painful things had been said when she had left, and Hank wasn't sure that this time wouldn't be the same.  
Shaking his head, he steeled his reserve. He hadn't travelled all this way to turn back at the last minute. Whatever happened, he had to at least see his daughter again, even if they couldn't patch things up.  
  
The Temple was a hive of activity. Trask moved through the control room, checking that all the technicians were ready to carry out the plan. Chief Morley came to attention as Trask approached him. "Everything is prepared, chief?"  
"Everything sir. We await your order."  
"Excellent. Do not doubt that the order will come, world leaders are awfully stubborn when they don't have a visual aid to help them." Trask left the control room quickly and climbed two floors to the medical wing. Cain was lying on a hospital bed, unconscious and stripped of his armour.  
"How's he doing?" Trask asked the doctor who was attending Cain.  
"He's doing a lot better than when he came in, but it's still only touch and go whether he will survive. He was hit by a very powerful shot, and not even his armour could protect him from its full force."  
"If he does not survive, then I will hold you responsible," Trask said casually. The doctor paled, knowing what Trask did to those who failed him. "Keep me updated on his condition." Trask turned and swept out of the room.  
  
Pietro and Lance were in the bar Pietro and Hank had visited before Pietro's mission to Italy, a beer in their hands. "So what now?" Lance said after they had drunk most of their beer.  
"Xavier's going to decide the next course of action depending on what happens. You know that today's the day when people have to either swear loyalty to Genoa or suffer the consequences?"  
Lance was about to reply, when his attention was caught by the television.  
"And now we go live to Tokyo, where a summit of world leaders has been called to discuss the implications of Bolivar Trask's ultimatum. Tonight is the night that the world leaders must give their choice, and we have exclusive coverage." Lance and Pietro watched in fascination as the scene changed to a circular room with twenty-five ministers sitting in it.  
  
Trask took his seat in his personal chambers, facing the large view screen, and prepared himself for the coming encounter. He did not doubt that there would be no one who would align themselves with Genoa, and was happy because of it. Finally, people would see his life's work pay off.  
The viewscreen flicked on, and revealed a circular room filled with ministers of the most powerful countries in the world. He paused for a moment before speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen. I have given you twelve days to consider my message, and I hope you have considered it well. Will you choose salvation or damnation? Will you be saved or destroyed?"  
There was a slight delay as the ministers listened to Trask's words, then the American representative stood up. "Mr Trask, what you have told us adds up to nothing short of an attempt to con the free world into subjugating themselves to 'Genoa', and I tell you that we will not stand for this!"  
The representative from the United Kingdom took her feet. "You claim to be the 'true prophet of the Messiah', yet you have provided us with no proof to substantiate your claim. You cannot reasonably expect us to believe your claims."  
"So what you're saying is that you have chosen not to take advantage of this chance for salvation."  
"Yes," the American minister said sarcastically.  
"Very well. I expected this to happen, and I want to show you what happens to sinners who do not repent." He flicked on his intercom to the control room. "You may fire when ready."  
  
Hank had walked to the building where his daughter lived; it was only ten minutes from the airport. He stared up at the high-rise block of flats with trepidation, before he took a deep breath, stuffed the paper into his pocket and went in. It took him several minutes to find his daughter's flat, where he knocked on the door.  
After a couple of seconds the door was thrown open by a short, dark haired woman who stared up at Hank. "Oh my god!" she whispered.  
Hank was lost for words. He hadn't seen his daughter for years, and now he'd finally met her, he couldn't find anything to say. That became suddenly irrelevant when his daughter threw her arms around him and he clasped her in a strong embrace.  
  
Lance and Pietro watched as Trask ordered his men to fire. Nothing happened for several minutes, and the news presenter's voice spoke, "Is anything going on there John?"  
"Just a minute," the reporter said. "Not yet… wait!" The screen changed from the minister's room to downtown Tokyo. People had stopped what they were doing and were staring up at the sky, which the camera was pointed at.  
"What's happening there?"  
"There's something in the sky, it's like a really bright beam of light or something. I dunno what it is." People were pointing at whatever it was now, when suddenly the reporter swore violently, and then the camera suddenly went black.  
"I'm not sure what's going on, we seem to have a transmission problem," the presenter said. "Wait, we're getting something from the Japanese news. Oh my god!" A live feed appeared on screen, and it made Pietro's stomach drop into his feet. Where the centre of Tokyo had been, there was now a huge crater. "I… I don't know what's happened, but… it's unbelievable!" The news reporter said in shock. "Tokyo seems to have been utterly destroyed!"  
  
At the Temple Trask watched the news feed of the remains of Tokyo. "Three days…" he whispered to himself. "Three days…"  
  
Sorry that I haven't updated for so long, and a big thankyou to everyone who reviewed chapter 5. Their shouldn't be any further delays, and I hope this chapter makes up for the delay. 


	7. The consequnces

**

Chapter VII

**  
  
'Breaking news: the self-proclaimed prophet of the messiah, Bolivar Trask, destroyed Tokyo yesterday. Casualties are believed to be in the thousands. Japanese emergency services rushed there last night, but they have found very few survivors.'  
All over the world, news reports like this were coming in; CNN, BBC News 24 and almost every other news service in the world were reporting on it. In London, Pietro Maximoff however, hadn't turned a television on since yesterday. Instead he'd merely sat in his flat, staring listlessly at the wall.  
It was likely that he would have continued like this if it weren't for his pager beeping. Xavier had given him the call he knew was coming. It only took him minutes to get to Excalibur headquarters, and he saw with a pang that a union jack was flying outside the building at half-mast - an act of respect for Hank McCoy, who'd been in Tokyo when the attack had occurred.  
Pietro went straight to Xavier's office and stood stiffly to attention. "Pietro, sit down won't you." When he had done so Xavier looked directly at Pietro. "I know what you're thinking, and what happened last night was not your fault." Pietro remained silent. "You did what you had been ordered to, nothing you could have done would have changed what happened.  
"However, I believe it would be helpful for you if you took a leave of absence for a couple of days at least."  
"What!"  
"You are obviously blaming yourself for what happened yesterday and you need to take some time to re-focus and to get over what happened. No one else blames you for what happened and you shouldn't either."  
"I told Hank to go to Tokyo," Pietro said quietly. "I encouraged him to, and then I couldn't kill Trask. It's my fault that Hank is dead, and it's my fault that everyone else is dead as well!"  
"Pietro your leave of absence begins today. You are not required to report for duty for two weeks."  
  
Pietro steeped out into the street feeling angry. How could Xavier have given him a leave of absence, now? He should be going after Trask, and how was he supposed to relax with what had occurred in Japan on his mind? He went straight back to his flat and was almost about to throw something very hard at the wall when he remembered something. Xavier had said Trask had last been heard of in Malaysia…  
He quickly filled a suitcase with the necessary equipment and pulled out a piece of paper. He paused before writing a brief note, then left the flat, hailed a cab on the street and it took him about ten minutes to get to Heathrow airport.  
  
Trask wondered what people were making of the attack on Tokyo. Fear, he imagined was chief in their minds, along with horror that someone could do something like that, and of course shock. Still, now that they had an example of his power perhaps people would be slightly more interested in listening to what he had to say.  
Trask was now standing in his room back in Genoa, he'd left the Temple after he had ordered the attack on Tokyo and returned home - he could order another attack with the simple push of a button. He was however, surprised at the lack of interference from Excalibur, from what he'd heard he had imagined the Charles Xavier's agents would have located Genoa and come storming in here trying to kill him. Instead all that had happened was that pathetic assassination attempt back in Italy.  
Trask left his quarters went outside. The night was cool without being cold and the sky was full of stars. Studying the constellations always helped Trask to think logically. Trask wondered how many other stars up there could support life, just as the Sun did. On how many other planets were there people like him, people who had realised that power was easily reachable if you let nothing stand in your way.  
"Sir?" A voice broke Trask's contemplation.  
"What is it?"  
"Cain Marko sir, he should be recovered enough to return to Genoa soon."  
"Excellent. Inform me when he departs from the Temple."  
"Yes sir."  
  
A flight to Malaysia took the best part of a day and Pietro spent most of the time on the plane asleep. He woke up just as the plane touched down and when he stepped off the plane an intense wave of heat hit him. Malaysia was a lot nicer than England he had to admit.  
It took him about an hour to locate the US nuclear physics facility and when he showed them his Excalibur identification they could tell him little. Trask had been quite a minor scientist while he had been here and he had left after less than a year here anyway. Disappointed, Pietro left and returned to the cheap hotel he had booked into, unsure where he could go now. He had been so sure that coming to Malaysia would provide some kind of clue as to Trask's whereabouts, but so far there was nothing.  
Pietro was so worn out with jet lag that he fell asleep for a few hours. When he woke up he felt a lot more refreshed and ready to go. He had only taken a short walk outside when he heard someone mutter the name 'Trask'. His companion hushed him up quickly and looked around suspiciously. Pietro kept on walking but after a couple of seconds turned and followed them. They hurried down the street until they came to a small non-descript building, which they entered.  
Pietro watched the building for several minutes before crossing the street. He circled round the back of the building until he found a back door, which he opened slowly. He entered a dingy room and looked about him. The walls were covered in strange symbols that looked like crosses except that the crosspiece was curved upwards. Could this be some kind of strange cult connected with Trask?  
Pietro didn't have time for any more deliberation because at that moment a man in a white robe entered. The two stared at each other for a matter of seconds before Pietro leapt into action and tackled him to the floor. One nerve pinch later and the man was unconscious. Pietro quickly pulled the robe off him and looked at it, it was a little big but it would do for him. He pulled it on and dragged the unconscious man outside and hid him behind some garbage cans.  
Going back inside, Pietro moved through the dingy room and into a hallway. There was a long staircase that he climbed and as he got to the top two more people in robes walked past him and into a room opposite the staircase. Intrigued, Pietro followed them and walked into a room filled with people all dressed in white robes. At the front of the room was a tall man in a silver robe, who raised his hands for silence as Pietro entered.  
"Brothers, welcome. Tonight we have gathered together to celebrate the beginning of the new world. It began last night when the heathen scum turned down the messiah's offer of salvation, instead choosing damnation. Soon the rest of the world will either repent of their sins or follow in their footsteps. The prophet has spoken. Bolivar Trask will save the world, one way or another."  
  
Thank you very much for your kind reviews DaemonRogue 13 and oceanbang, I'm glad you liked chapter 6 :) 


	8. A test of loyalty

**

Chapter VIII

**   
  
Pietro felt rage mounting within him as the man spoke of the attack on Tokyo in such a casual manner. It took a lot of self-restraint not to leap out and attack the man in silver, but he knew that if he did then he'd never leave the building alive.  
"Brothers, soon we will journey to the Promised Land where our brothers and sisters wait for us." Pietro wondered if this could be the Genoa that Trask had spoken about in his broadcast. "But first, a test must be passed to prove your final loyalty to the lord. You are blessed in that Bolivar Trask himself will be coming to oversee your test himself. Now you must prepare for the coming trials. At the third watch, the tests will begin. Good luck, brothers."  
The man in silver left the room and the people in white began to file out as well. Pietro hung back, uncertain what he should do, when a man addressed him. "Brother, you look lost?" The man was tall and heavy-set, his face covered by the hood that all members of the group wore.  
"I, uh, I was just thinking about those tests," Pietro lied quickly. "They sound quite dangerous."  
"Oh, I wouldn't worry." The man said amiably, putting a hand around Pietro's shoulders and leading him downstairs. "I've heard that there are very few people who fail them. Coffee?" Pietro realised that they were back in the dingy room he had entered first.  
"Uh, sure." Pietro watched as the man pulled two mugs out of a cabinet and switched on an old coffee machine, wondering how he could get away without attracting too much notice.  
The man handed him a mug after a couple of minutes and Pietro sipped at it. The coffee wasn't particularly good, but it helped wake him up slightly. "So, when did you join?" Pietro ventured.  
The man looked like he enjoyed conversation and answered eagerly. "Oh, it was about fourteen months ago - Brother Simic introduced me."  
"Brother Simic?"  
"Haven't you met him?" The man frowned. "No, I suppose if you're new, you wouldn't have. He's from Eastern Europe, a major figure in the church. He came to see me and his words changed my life. I just can't wait to see the Prophet."  
Pietro nodded. "Me neither." Seeing his companion about to ask some questions Pietro hastily excused himself. "I have to go, prayers." He blustered past the other man before he could argue and found himself in the hall again. He hadn't expected anything like this to happen - he just hoped he could pass whatever tests there were. If he could get close to Trask, then he could finish what he'd started in Italy.  
"Brother!" a commanding voice sounded from behind him. Pietro turned to see the man in silver robes standing there. "Should you not be at prayers? You trial will be starting soon."  
"Oh, of course. I, uh, just forgot where we're meant to pray, that's all." Pietro hoped the man would believe him. The man was silent for a minute, but then said, 'the chapel. At the end of the hall."  
Pietro nodded then hurried away before the church leader could question him more. The chapel had about half a dozen people in when he got there; where everyone else was he wasn't sure. Pietro took a knee in front of one of the strange crosses and bowed his head, to keep up appearances. He didn't know how long there was until third watch, and how long he could keep this charade up without being caught.  
Luckily third watch came soon, only an hour or so after Pietro had arrived. He knew that it was time when everyone else began to leave, and he forced himself to stand despite his aching knees. He followed the others to the room where they had all met before. Once again the leader in the silver robes was there to address them.  
"Brothers, the time has come. We will journey to the testing grounds, where the Prophet awaits us, and you will take the tests to prove your loyalty." The fifteen people followed the man in silver out of the building. By now it was dark outside and they moved unnoticed through the back streets. It took only five minutes for them to reach an old house, which had a large walled garden. Standing in the garden was Trask - seeing him in the flesh again made Pietro's anger flare.  
"Welcome, disciples!" Trask's voice boomed around the garden. "By coming here you have been given the chance to come to the Promised Land: to Genoa. All you must do is prove your loyalty to the lord." He waved a hand and two guards appeared leading fifteen people at gunpoint. "You will come with me to Genoa, provided that you kill one of these people."  
  
Kitty stood in the briefing room at Excalibur headquarters. She had been here once before, after Pietro's father had kidnapped her, Erik Lensherr, and now she was here because of Pietro's disappearance.  
"Is this all that he left?" Xavier looked up from studying the note Pietro had left. Kitty nodded brusquely and Xavier steepled his fingers. The note was purposefully obscure: 'I'm going to find Trask and avenge them' was all it said. "He didn't mention anything about leaving to you?"  
"I told you," Kitty said irately. "I haven't seen him since before the Tokyo attack. He didn't say anything to me."  
Xavier nodded, trying to think where exactly Pietro could have been going. What information did Pietro have that would have told him where Trask was? It was incredibly frustrating for Xavier not to know where Pietro could have gone. He glanced down at the file on Trask that lay on the desk and his eyes suddenly narrowed. Trask had last been heard of in Malaysia.   
He suddenly looked up at Kitty. "I think I know where Pietro is. He's in Malaysia."

Pietro couldn't quite believe his ears. Had Trask really just asked them to kill a man in cold blood? It shouldn't really have surprised him he supposed knowing Trask's ruthless nature but it did surprise even him.  
"Uh… n,not that I want to speak against you, sir." One of the robed figures stepped forward. "But, why must we kill these people."  
"A good question," Trask smiled. "These people are wanted criminals. They are all thieves, drug addicts, murderers and rapists. None of them truly believe, and sinners must be punished." Trask motioned to a guard who passed the man a knife. The man looked at it in shock as a prisoner was forced forwards, then the man's expression hardened and he plunged the knife into the prisoner's chest. The man let out a gurgling scream as he collapsed. "There, that wasn't too hard, was it?" Trask asked, and the man shook his head. "Who's next?"  
Five people went before Pietro, each one killing their prisoner. When Pietro was given the knife, he gripped it tightly, but when the prisoner was forced forwards he launched himself at the nearest guard, taking him by surprise. Pietro swiftly changed direction and sprinted towards Trask, who was taken aback by the sudden attack. Pietro lunged with his knife and Trask barely dodged it, the knife slashed across his arm.  
Hearing the other guard behind him, Pietro turned in time to see a rifle stock smash into his temple. He collapsed, unconscious, and the guard pointed the gun at him. "Do I kill him?" he asked Trask.  
"No. Keep him alive. We'll take him back to Genoa with us."  
  
Xavier had assigned Lance, Callisto and Forge to the mission going to Malaysia. He wasn't sure what they'd find there, but if Pietro were in trouble hopefully they would be able to rescue him.  
"How do you know he's there?" Kitty demanded.  
"That's the only place he could have gone. He must have remembered that information that I told him, and gone there in an attempt to find Trask alone."  
"You better be right about this," Kitty said darkly. As he watched the three agents preparing for the mission he prayed that they would find Pietro alive and relatively unhurt. Xavier wanted to look after all the people under his authority - Hank's death in Tokyo had hit him hard, though he didn't let it show.  
Lance came up to him. "We're ready to go, sir."  
"Excellent. If you find Pietro then report back immediately." Lance nodded and led the other three out of the headquarters. They weren't taking a plane from a public airport; instead they were taking Xavier's private jet. It would take them slightly longer to get to the landing field, but it would allow them a greater flexibility and freedom.  
Kitty watched them leave with a feeling of trepidation. Despite all of Xavier's promises that they would find Pietro, she had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen. She couldn't pinpoint what it was, but she had a feeling Pietro was in grave danger.  
  
Thank you for your review DaemonRogue 13 it was greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy chapter 8!


	9. Question time

**

Chapter IX

** The first thing Pietro became aware of was a dull thrumming that he could vaguely hear - like an aeroplane motor that was very far away. The next thing he became aware of was a fiery pain that lanced through his head, making him wish he were still unconscious. He tried to touch his head with his hands, but suddenly realised that his hands were tied tightly with a coarse rope. He tried to move his legs and found that they were similarly bound. Finally he pried his eyes open and wished he hadn't as the bright light caused him to jam them shut again. He finally managed to open them and, squinting, looked around the room he was in.  
The room was bare-walled and uncarpeted; the bare steel glinted in the wan light cast by two small lights opposite Pietro. There was a door, made from wood, opposite Pietro, and a table against one side of the wall, covered in a sheet of dust. It looked as though this room hadn't been used for a very long time.  
As he tried to remember exactly where he was, the door was thrown open and a man stepped through. He was tall and thin and had a neatly trimmed moustache. Pietro knew he'd seen him before, but his brain was too muddled to tell him who he was.  
The man looked at Pietro with an appraising eye for a few seconds before speaking. "I assume that you were sent to kill me." It was a statement, not a question, and suddenly everything flooded back to Pietro. He remembered Trask ordering the cult members to kill the prisoners, his own mad run at Trask and the guard taking him down with his weapon.  
"You're a murdering bastard," Pietro said bluntly. "You must be stopped."  
Trask smiled and raised his eyebrows. "I'm trying to save the world. If anyone must be stopped, it's you."  
"What about all those people in Tokyo? I don't see how you 'saved' them."  
"Ah, that was unfortunate, but an example had to be made. It's so much easier to convince people that you are serious when they have seen an example of your power."  
"You're sick… those people in Tokyo weren't just test subjects for your experiments," Pietro spat.  
"They had a chance to save themselves. They chose not to take it," Trask said calmly. "But that is all in the past. What I want to know is who sent you? Was it Excalibur? Or maybe the U.S.A.?"  
Pietro clamped his jaw shut and remained stubbornly silent. Trask sighed, "very well, have it your way. I'm sure you'll see reason soon enough." He swept out of the room.  
Pietro was about to begin considering escape options, when another two figures appeared in the doorway. They were both tall - one was muscle-bound, the other wiry - and wore completely black uniforms. "Apparently you do not wish to divulge the information that the Prophet desires. We're here to help you, reconsider," the wiry man smiled threateningly, as the larger man cracked his knuckles.  
  
Lance, Callisto and Forge left the airport quickly after landing, already sweating profusely. They weren't sure where Pietro might be, but a logical starting place would be the US nuclear physics facility. If he'd been in Malaysia then it was likely he would have paid them a visit.  
The head technician they talked to was short tempered and told them that they were very busy and that no one had come to the facility recently. When they showed him their ID he scoffed, saying that he'd never heard of Excalibur. Lance was starting to run out of patience when there was a knock on the head technician's door. An assistant entered with two men - one was in his mid-forties, with greying hair and an eye-patch, the other was early twenties, with black skin and blonde hair.  
"Who are you?" the head technician growled angrily.  
The older man sat down leisurely and pulled out an ID that he flipped open. "Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." The head technician paled visibly as he heard this. "This is Agent Daniels. We're here to ask you about Bolivar Trask."  
"Of, of course. What is it you'd like to know?"  
"Everything you've got about him."  
"I can get the details of his time here," the technician offered.  
"Then do that," Fury told him. "And what about you? Did you know him?"  
"Only vaguely sir. He tended to keep himself to himself. Didn't like socialising with anyone else here. And he left after ten months here anyway."  
"Where did he go?"  
"Uh, I think he got a job back in the States. We never saw him here again. The records can tell you a lot more." The assistant entered again with a folder, which he handed to Fury, who skimmed through it.  
"Thank you very much," Fury rose to leave, followed by Daniels. Lance, Callisto and Forge followed them out and in the hallway, Lance caught up with Fury.  
"Agent Fury, I'm Lance Alvers of Excalibur. We're looking for Trask as well." He indicated his two companions. "Do you have any leads as to where he might be?"  
Fury considered Lance for several seconds. "Come with me. I might just be able to help you."  
  
Pietro's head snapped back again and blood sprayed from his nose as the larger of the two men pummelled his face. The beating had been going on for almost an hour and Pietro was just teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, but the blessed darkness refused to overcome him. He could see the man in front of him rear his arm back for another strike when he heard the door open.  
"Dismissed," Trask said and the two men swiftly left the room. "Bring him to the observation gallery." Pietro felt himself being picked up by someone and carried down a long hallway into a lift and then along another hallway, before being dumped on the floor of a different room. This room had a thick carpet and the walls were decorated with oil paintings, and as Pietro focused he realised that they were some how designed to simulate being deep underwater.  
"Do you feel like talking a little more now?" Trask asked as he came to stand in front of Pietro. Pietro could barely nod. "That's much better. Let's start with my earlier question: who sent you?"  
"No… one," Pietro mumbled. "Came… alone."  
"Alone?" Trask frowned. "But you must work for some agency. Which one?"  
"Excalibur," Pietro muttered.  
"Of course," Trask nodded. "Secondly, what's your name?"  
"Pietro… Maximoff."  
"Maximoff?" Trask's eyebrows rose again. "You're the one who killed Erik Lensherr?" Pietro nodded. "Of course, it makes sense," Trask said to himself. Trask moved out of Pietro's line of sight and Pietro almost collapsed to the floor. His whole body ached, especially his face.  
Suddenly Pietro's bonds were cut and he was helped upright. Trask smiled benignly at him. "Mr Maximoff, I must say I appreciate your determination. It has taken my men almost an hour to beat two simple answers out of you. And the attempt on my life at the trial was very ambitious. However, you have failed in your mission I'm afraid, and now it is time for me to turn to more pressing matters. I have decided to make another example - somewhere in England now, I think." Trask's smile slipped slightly as he noticed that despite his injuries Pietro was grinning. "What's so funny?"  
Pietro raised his wrist, revealing a digital wristwatch. "This is a tracking beacon. It broadcasts my coordinates to anyone with a receiver. Excalibur knows exactly where we are now."  
  
Lance, Callisto and Forge sat in a small hut on the beach opposite Nick Fury and his associate who'd been introduced as Evan Daniels. During their conversation they had managed to discern that S.H.I.E.L.D. was the U.S. equivalent of Excalibur. "We don't have any leads on Trask," Fury was explaining. "It's like he's vanished from the face of the earth, yet we know he can't of done, and we can't just ignore him or we'll have another potential Tokyo on our hands." Lance nodded. "The information from the nuclear facility," Fury waved a hand at the file, "is relatively useless. It doesn't tell us anything that might give us a clue as to where Trask could be. What about you?"  
"We're here to find Pietro Maximoff, a fellow agent, who we believe has come here in search of Bolivar Trask. Unfortunately, we haven't got any leads as to where he, or Trask, might possibly be."  
Fury nodded and leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. A sudden beeping noise emanated from Forge's bag and he practically tore open the bag to find the source of the noise.  
"What's that?" Evan asked as Forge looked at a small device that was slightly bigger than a mobile telephone.  
"It's a locator. Every Excalibur field agent has a tracking beacon, like these," he indicated the one's Callisto and Lance were wearing. "They transmit information, like where the agent is, and my locator has just picked up Pietro's signal," Forge said excitedly.  
"Where is he?" Lance asked, half-rising from his seat.  
"About five miles west of here," Forge replied, studying the locator.  
"Isn't that in the ocean?" Fury asked.  
"Could be an island." Forge pointed out.  
"Or a boat," Callisto added.  
"Okay, time to move out." Lance got up, as did Callisto and Forge.  
"Wait. I want Evan to go with you," Fury said. "It is likely that your friend is with Trask, and I want a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent there when he is found."  
Lance nodded. "Sure. Evan, you ready to go?"  
"As soon as you give the signal."  
"You can take my boat," Fury stood up. "Good luck Lance. Keep me informed of your progress."  
"Right. Let's move out. We've got to find Pietro."  
  
Again, sorry about the delay on both chapters, and thank you for your review DaemonRogue 13, I'm glad you liked the last chapter! 


	10. The prey becomes the predator

**

Chapter X

**  
  
Trask stared at the tracking beacon for several seconds, speechless, before his mouth curled into a wicked sneer. "I must say I am impressed by your creativity Mr Maximoff, but did you really think that it is that easy to find Genoa. It will take your friends time to get here, and Genoa is extremely well hidden. By the time Excalibur gets here you will be dead.  
"But now I have more pressing issues to attend to. I'll leave you here, where you will have the best seat in the house to watch the death of one of the oldest cities in the world. I never liked London that much, did you? Oh, and if you want anything I'm sure Cain will be more than happy to provide it for you." Trask turned on his heel and left the observation gallery. Pietro turned his head to the left and was amazed to see the giant in body armour, who he had shot in Italy, lounging against the wall.  
"How are you still alive?" Pietro asked in shock. Even with body armour a direct hit from the Sidewinder to the chest should have collapsed at least one of his lungs and left him dead a long time ago.  
"I didn't get these muscles by just going to the gym," Cain grinned. "I was one of the experimental super-soldiers that the United States government created during the Cold War. Part of that means that I'm extremely resilient to physical attacks, although I have to say that bullet really did hurt."  
Pietro leaned back in his chair, head spinning. He'd never heard of any super-soldiers that the US had created, but it would explain how Cain had survived a shot that should have been lethal. Surrounded by maniacs like Trask and Cain, Pietro silently prayed that Excalibur would get here soon.  
  
Nick Fury's speedboat was an incredibly powerful craft - it was a sleek midnight black boat that had Forge practically drooling over it. Lance knew the most about steering speedboats, so he was at the helm, while Forge was examining the engine in delight, Evan was stowing the scuba tank that had fallen out of a locker and Callisto was studying the locator. "According to the locator, Pietro's two miles east," she said pointing Lance in the correct direction. "I hope he's okay."  
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. I've seen him get out of way more dangerous situations than this one before," Lance said flippantly, but he too felt worried. Pietro had gone after Trask alone, without any Excalibur coordination, and Lance was worried that something terrible could have happened to Pietro. If only the locator could broadcast the wearer's life-signs.  
After ten more minutes, Callisto told Lance to stop. "According to the transmitter, we are right on top of Pietro," she said, looking around in bewilderment. They were in the middle of a wide expanse of ocean, with no distinguishable feature in sight. No islands, no boats, just the vastness of the sea stretching away from them in all directions.  
"That's impossible, there's nothing here," Evan said, his eyes scanning the horizon from something they might have missed.  
"The locator is working perfectly," Forge said after checking the device quickly. "Pietro is here."  
"That's impossible. There's nothing here!" Evan argued heatedly.  
"Wait, what if Pietro's underwater." Everyone turned and looked at Lance as he voiced his suggestion. "We never thought of that."  
"You mean like in a submarine?" Evan said, sounding unconvinced.  
"Possibly, but maybe Trask's built some kind of underwater base. Maybe that's what Genoa is."  
"Well let's take a look," Forge said standing up.  
"How?" Callisto said. "I doubt it will be possible to just see anything by sticking our heads underwater," she said sarcastically.  
"With this," Evan held up the scuba tank and wetsuit he had found in the locker. "Someone puts this on and goes down to have a look."  
"I'll do it," Forge said immediately. "I used to do quite a lot of scuba diving when I was younger."  
"Okay," Lance took charge once more. "Forge, you go down and take a look, we'll wait here. If you see anything come back and report, understood." Forge nodded as he pulled on the wetsuit, then adjusted the scuba tank on his back. With a quick thumbs-up, Forge fell backwards into the ocean and quickly vanished from sight. Lance sighed angrily and paced up and down the length of the boat, wishing there was something he could do to help find Pietro.  
  
Pietro had been in the observation gallery for almost an hour now, and he was getting restless. He needed to stop Trask before he destroyed London, or any other cities for that matter, but how could he do it? Obviously Trask hadn't attacked any other city, or he would have come to the observation deck to gloat over Pietro.  
Dejectedly sticking his hands into his pocket, Pietro suddenly realised that he might be able to take care of Cain. He pulled out a stick of pink chewing gum that was decidedly old - it had countless hairs and other pieces of dirt stuck to it - and it could be just the thing he was looking for. He casually popped it into his mouth and began to chew, taking careful note of how many times he chewed. When he got to the twentieth chew he spat it out, and suddenly turned and threw it at Cain.  
It landed on Cain's left arm, and Cain leapt to his feet, unsure what exactly had been thrown at him. When he realised what it was he laughed scornfully, until the gum exploded, hurling him backwards into the wall.  
Pietro made a dash for the door but as he got to it, it opened and two guards stepped inside. Pietro dealt with the first with a quick chop to the throat, and before the second guard could bring his gun to bear Pietro had slammed his head into the wall and knocked him out.  
Pietro took both of the sub-machine guns the guards had been carrying and stepped out into the corridor. It didn't sound like anybody had heard the commotion in the room, because the corridor was deserted. Pietro ran to the end of the hall until he came to a lift. Inside it he studied the buttons, then hit the button labelled 'Technical Deck'. He was going to find Trask, and when he did he would make sure Trask never had a chance to hurt another person again.  
  
They'd been on the boat for almost twenty minutes before Forge returned from his underwater foray. They gave him a hand to haul him up onto the boat and after he had taken the scuba tank, mask and wetsuit off he told them of what he'd found. "It took quite a long time to find it, but the water's extremely clear around here and the bed's not too deep. There's what looks like a whole underwater city down there, that must be where Pietro is."  
"That must be Genoa. I don't think anyone expected Trask to have an underwater base," Lance noted.  
"So now what do we do? We've only got one scuba tank, so we can't all get into Genoa, and even if we somehow managed to what good would it do? We haven't got enough men to take it by force." Callisto voiced the thoughts that had been in the back of everyone's minds for sometime now, they had just been concentrating on the joy of actually finding Genoa.  
"We've got to tell Excalibur what we've found. Xavier can send more men and deal with Trask, there's nothing we can do right now." Lance reached for his cell phone when Evan spoke up.  
"We've got to leave, now!"  
"Why?" Everyone turned to face him.  
"I just got off the phone with Nick Fury, and he's been on the phone to Washington. The President has just given the order to destroy Genoa. The air force should be here in about fifteen minutes."  
"What about Pietro?" Lance asked in outrage. "He's down there with Trask. You can't just expect us to leave him!"  
"I'm sorry," Evan shook his head, "but I have my orders. The President believes this is the best opportunity we have to deal with Bolivar Trask. You must turn this boat around right now."  
"What'll you do if I don't?" Lance took a step forward threateningly.  
"I'll be forced to place you under arrest," Evan suddenly pulled a gun from inside his jacket and levelled it at Lance's chest. "Now turn the boat around," he repeated slowly.  
Lance grudgingly turned back to the helm. "That's better," Evan said, stepping towards him. As he did, Lance whipped around and lashed out, catching Evan in the side of the head with a hammer blow that threw him to the floor. His gun went flying out of his hands and Callisto picked it up.  
"Lance, stop!" she shouted, as Lance advanced towards Evan. "What can we do for Pietro? You can't get down there, and even if you could it would only lead to your death as well as his."  
Lance turned to face her angrily. "So you expect me to abandon my friend?"  
"What choice do we have?" 

Thank you for your review DaemonRogue 13, I'm very glad you enjoyed the last chapter. The end is almost in sight, but will it be a happy ending for everyone? You'll have to wait until next time to find out.


	11. The Final Hour, Part 1

**

Chapter XI

**  
  
As soon as they got back to the mainland Lance set off to find Fury, a thunderous expression on his face. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was exactly where they had left him, deep in conversation to someone on his mobile.  
"Fury, we need to talk." Fury gave Lance an annoyed look and gestured to the phone. "Now!" Noting the steel in Lance's tone, Fury said a few words to the other person then put the phone down.  
"This better be important Alvers, that was one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. directors."  
"Is it true, what Evan said?"  
"About what?" Fury said, nonplussed.  
"About you calling the President and him ordering an attack on Genoa?"  
Fury sighed. "Look, I'm sorry Lance but this is the best chance…"  
"What about Pietro?" Lance interrupted him.  
"I'm sorry, but if you just look at the bigger picture for a moment – think how many lives we'll be saving." "You don't even know that Pietro's in Genoa. For all you know he could be nowhere near Trask. You could be killing him for nothing!" "Lance, I'm very sorry but there's nothing I can do about this. And besides, in war innocent people die – think of all those people in Tokyo. Surely you can see that by his death Pietro will have saved countless millions. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."  
"So what you're basically saying is the end justifies the means. Who cares how many innocent people die, as long as Trask dies with them? And who are you to say that all the people in Genoa deserve to die, if that is where Pietro even is?" Lance shook his head in disgust and pushed past Fury, pausing in the doorway to the hut. "What makes you any better than him? You're just as willing to kill innocent people to get the job done."  
Fury watched him leave, a sorry expression on his face. He felt for Lance, he truly did, but Fury had managed, over the years, to put his emotions aside and focus on the job at hand. It made it so much easier to carry on when you had just sentenced a man to death.  
  
The elevator headed downwards at a considerable rate but unfortunately for Pietro it stopped before it reached the 'Technical Deck'. The doors slid open to reveal two people in white lab coats, who were so startled by Pietro that they momentarily froze in their tracks. As they turned to run, Pietro tackled the nearest one and incapacitated him with a blow to the head. The other one unfortunately managed to sprint down the passage and duck into a room to the left.  
Pietro followed her and pushed the door open. Inside, the female scientist was cowering against the rear wall and when she saw Pietro she raised her arms across her face and screamed, "don't kill me!"  
"Where's Bolivar Trask?" Pietro asked, brandishing one of the machine guns.  
"I… I'm not sure," the woman stammered. "I think he's in his personal quarters."  
"And where are they?"  
"Uh, t,top floor. Just above the observation deck."  
Pietro turned on his heel and ran back to the elevator, cursing his luck. He'd been going down, when he should have been going up. Reaching the elevator he punched the top button and the doors slid closed.  
As the lift began its ascent the female scientist stepped out of the room, and grinned. She raised a small device, which resembled a mobile phone, to her mouth and spoke into it. "This is Alpha 3, I've just had contact with the subject. He's approaching your position, Omega 1."  
"Acknowledged," a voice muffled with static came back. Satisfied that her job was done, the woman replaced her communicator in her coat pocket and returned the way she had come. Although he didn't know it, Pietro was walking into a cunning trap that Trask had designed.  
  
This time Pietro was more cautious when the lift doors opened. He hugged the right-hand side of the elevator for several seconds, before leaning out a fraction to check that the corridor was all clear. Satisfied that it was, Pietro advanced into the corridor. The corridor was expensively furnished, with a thick red carpet, polished oak walls and oil paintings hanging from the walls. Pietro even recognised some of the paintings as ones that had disappeared from numerous art galleries over the years.  
As he walked down the corridor Pietro kept a tight grip on his machine gun, determined not to let the comfortable surroundings lull him into a false sense of security. Rounding a corner, Pietro came face-to-face with a set of tall double doors, made from polished wood. Presuming this to be Trask's quarters the scientist had been talking about – there hadn't been any other doors or turnings along the corridor – Pietro took a run up and shoulder barged the doors open.  
The doors swung open with surprising ease and almost overbalanced Pietro, who brought his weapon up to cover the room. As it turned out, he needn't have bother. Half a dozen men in black uniforms were facing him, machine guns pointed at his face. In the middle of them stood Bolivar Trask, a wide smile on his face.  
"Well done, Pietro," he said pleasantly. "I must say, you surprised me again with your tenacity and determination to complete your mission. Unfortunately I have security cameras all over Genoa, so I saw when you escaped from Cain, and it was a simple matter to shepherd you up here. But now my friend," Trask's smile faded as he drew a pistol from inside his jacket. "It is time to say goodbye, permanently. A pity you can't see the destruction of London, but trust me, it'll be impressive." Trask levelled the pistol at Pietro's head and his finger tightened around the trigger.  
  
Lance was sitting on a discarded oil drum, staring out to sea when Callisto found him. "Hey, how are you doing?"  
"I can't believe that Fury could do that," Lance shook his head sadly. "I thought we had a chance to rescue Pietro. I just can't believe we'll never see him again."  
"I hate to say this Lance, but do you think he might be, well, right?"  
"How can you say that?"  
"Well I mean, thanks to Pietro we've got a chance to get rid of Trask once and for all, haven't we? It might mean that Pietro has to die, but think of all the people his death will save."  
Lance shook his head again, this time in disbelief. "I can't believe that you'd say that Callisto. If it was you trapped in Genoa, would you want us to consign you to death without even trying to rescue you?"  
"We did try to rescue him," Callisto reminded him gently. "You tried your best."  
"No, we didn't. We didn't try at all. That's why I'm going back."  
"You're what?"  
"I'm going back," Lance said calmly.  
"But, there's no time. And you'll just end up dying," Callisto was shocked by Lance's statement.  
"I'm actually going to try. It's what friends do." This last retort stung Callisto like a slap across the face.  
"I'm Pietro's friend as well," she reminded him coldly. "Don't forget that this is as hard on me as it is on you."  
"I'm sorry Callisto," Lance said wearily. "But I've got to go, now."  
"And I'm coming with you."  
Lance grinned as Callisto stood up beside him. "Let's go and get Pietro then."  
  
Trask was about to fire the pistol, when there was a thundering crash and Pietro suddenly found himself thrown from his feet and hurled against the wall. As he got to his feet, Pietro could feel a pain in his chest that told him he'd cracked at least one rib, maybe more. Unfortunately, the other people in the room hadn't been so lucky. The black-clad guards were sprawled on the floor, four of them crushed under heavy masonry and the other two bent in unnatural positions.  
Trask however, was still very much alive. He moaned in pain as he put a hand to his forehead and it came away bloody. He pulled himself to his feet, despite the splitting pain in his head, and coughed a mixture of dust and blood. Realising that he was unarmed, Trask looked about for his pistol and came face to face with Pietro.  
Pietro was as dishevelled as he was – his silver hair covered in dust, his suit ruined with dust and blood and a cut trickling blood down the side of his face. He also had the thing Trask had been looking for. The pistol.  
"Pietro," Trask wheezed. "I knew you would have made it." Trask's eyes flicked to the pistol, considering whether he could make a grab for it.  
Pietro smiled, seeing Trask looking at the gun. "It's over Trask. What do you think that just was?" Pietro didn't allow him to answer. "Excalibur know where I am. And now I get a chance to finish what I couldn't do in Italy." Pietro raised the pistol and levelled it at Trask's forehead.  
Trask paled, but he couldn't keep a slightly appraising look out of his eyes. "Oh come on Pietro, don't tell me you're going to shoot me. What about your sense of fairness, the need for me to be put on trial?"  
Pietro didn't answer, instead he squeezed the trigger once. Trask crumpled in a heap, blood pouring from his forehead where the bullet had impacted with him. Pietro threw his pistol on top of Trask's body. It was finally over. Trask would never kill anyone ever again.  
  



	12. The Final Hour, Part 2

**

Chapter XII

**  
  
Lance and Callisto had taken Fury's speedboat out with them again, plus Forge's locator. As they approached the co-ordinates that Pietro was at, Lance saw something that made his heart sink. Flying overhead was a squadron of U.S. fighter planes, and they were engaged in attacking Genoa. As they watched a missile streaked into the water and a moment later water was hurled upwards as the missile hit its target.   
Lance cursed in anger and sorrow as he watched the attack, realising there was nothing he could do to help Pietro now. He was going to die, and Lance hadn't done anything to save him. Callisto put a comforting hand on Lance's left shoulder.   
"You did everything you could Lance. It's not your fault."   
Lance didn't reply for several seconds, before shaking his head. "I couldn't save him, Callisto." Lance held his head in his hands. "I failed my friend."   
Callisto couldn't say anything to that. To tell the truth, she was feeling terrible as well. Pietro and her hadn't been especially close, not like him and Lance, but she had been his friend and it pained her deeply to know that she hadn't been able to do anything to save him. Yet Callisto was a pragmatist and realised that to get rid of a madman like Trask, sacrifices had to be made. It was harsh, but then again so was life.   
"We should really get back," she said as more missiles were fired at Genoa.   
"Not yet," Lance shook his head. "I want to wait. Maybe Pietro…" his voice tailed off but Callisto knew what he was going to say.   
"Lance I really don't think he'll be able to escape."   
"I'm not leaving yet." Lance's tone brooked no argument, so Callisto shrugged and sat down at the stern.   
  
Pietro staggered out of Trask's quarters as the base was rocked by another explosion. He wasn't quite sure what the explosions were being caused by, but he was sure Trask hadn't been expecting them. Presumably his locator had worked and Excalibur had picked up his signal, though he would have thought that they would have come looking for him before bombing this place.   
The lift wasn't working, so Pietro took the stairs down passing groups of terrified people who were running up and down them. He pushed through them and in this hectic environment no one thought to stop him. As he was running he stopped one of the people and asked him, "how do I get out of here?"   
"Every two levels, there're life pods."   
Pietro nodded and sprinted down to the next floor, but by the time he had got there all the pods had been taken. Dashing back down the stairs, he was forced to go down six more levels before he found some free pods. This level was dark, presumably one of the explosions had knocked out the power to this level, and deserted. Pietro hurried down to the end of the corridor where he could see the life pods illuminated by an emergency light.   
"Going somewhere?" Pietro whirled around and saw Cain standing at the end of the corridor. One of his arms was hanging slightly limply, and he had a vindictive look on his face.   
"We've got to get out of here!" Pietro shouted at him. "This place is under attack!"   
"You ain't going nowhere!" Cain advanced on him. "I'm going to enjoy making you pay for everything you've done."   
"There's no time now!"   
"You killed Trask, didn't you!" It was less a question, more a statement. Pietro nodded, and Cain came to a halt and bowed his head. "You've destroyed everything I believed in, what we all believed in. Trask gave us hope, and you snatched it away from us because you were blinded by your hatred!"   
Pietro was taken aback by Cain's accusations. "I killed Trask because he was a madman and a murderer! Remember Tokyo?"   
Cain however, was not listening. Instead he seemed to be praying. Suddenly he looked Pietro square in the eye. "I'm going to kill you!"   
Pietro only just had time to leap back as Cain lunged towards him. Cain's fist smashed into the wall, causing a fist-shaped indent. If it caused him any pain, Cain didn't show it. Pietro managed to duck another two blows, before launching himself shoulder first at Cain. He ploughed into Cain's chest and managed to unbalance him. As Cain teetered, Pietro kicked him in the leg, sending him tumbling to the floor.   
Immediately Pietro turned and hit the button that would open the nearest life pod. The hydraulic door slide open with a wheeze, they obviously hadn't been used for a very long time, and they took so long to open that they allowed Cain to get to his feet. Pietro knew that he couldn't beat Cain in a fight, that he had only to keep him down long enough for him to get into the life pod and escape Trask's base.   
As Cain got to his feet, Pietro charged in once again, with the purpose of knocking Cain off his feet. This time unfortunately, Cain was ready for him and as he ran towards him, Cain side stepped his shoulder tackle and threw Pietro into a nearby wall.   
All the breath was driven out of his body when he hit the wall and he was powerless to stop Cain picking him up and crushing him. With one of his ribs already broken the pressure that Cain now put on him was almost unbearable. Desperate, Pietro head butted Cain in the face, as hard as he could and there was a sickening crack as blood sprayed from Cain's nose. It also made Cain drop Pietro who lay on the ground gasping desperately for breath.   
Cain staggered backwards, hands clamped over his face, blood seeping through his fingers. Pietro, seeing the life pod's door was now open, began crawling towards it but Cain intercepted him. "I told you I was going to make you pay." Cain trod on Pietro's left hand, then reached down and lifted up Pietro's index finger. He rested the sole of his boot on the top of Pietro's index finger, before stepping down hard. Pietro heard a crack and let out a ragged gasp of pain, as his finger was broken.   
"This is just a fraction of the pain you're going to feel in the next life!" Cain growled in fury, lifting up Pietro's middle finger. This time Pietro couldn't hold back a scream, as his finger was broken.   
Cain was about to snap another of Pietro's fingers when he was thrown to the floor by an explosion, which rocked the corridor. Thankful for the respite, Pietro forced himself to stand up, his left hand hanging limply at his side. He turned and shuffled towards the life pod, when Cain spoke up.   
"You cannot escape the vengeance of the Lord Maximoff!" Pietro turned to look at him, and realised that Cain was trapped under a large piece of equipment that was sprawled across his chest, blood soaking the ground around him. He also had a pistol in his hand, levelled at Pietro's chest.   
The bullet ploughed into Pietro's chest, hurling him backward into the life pod. The door slid closed and Pietro felt a shudder as the pod was ejected from the base. Unfortunately it was too late for him, he'd already lost too much blood. As Pietro lay there darkness crept in at the edge of his vision, and he knew he was about to die. He'd always wondered what it was like to die, and now he knew he was glad to find out that it didn't really hurt. It was more like going to sleep…   
  
Lance and Callisto stayed out at sea until it was almost dark, waiting and watching for any sign of Pietro. As Callisto had expected, they found nothing. Several life pods surfaced during the day, their inhabitants abandoning them and boarding rafts, which they steered towards the mainland. Lance ignored these, but Callisto gave Forge a call warning him about them so they could be picked up when they reached the shore.   
The only life pod that was slightly unusual was one with no one in it, but a large bloodstain covering the control panel. It also had a hole in the side, and the pod was almost half full of water by the time it surfaced. Lance and Callisto investigated the pod, but there was no one aboard it, and they were forced to return to the boat.   
By nightfall, no life pods had surfaced for almost two hours. "Lance, we've got to go back. He's not coming back."   
Lance sighed deeply and nodded. Callisto turned the boat around, while Lance took one last look at the area where Pietro had died. "I'm sorry," he whispered as the area faded into the distance. "I'm so sorry."   
  
There we go, the penultimate chapter! Just one more chapter to go, and things certainly aren't looking quite as happy as they were at the end of Licence to Kill. I'm glad you liked the last chapter DaemonRogue 13, and I hope you liked this one as well! 


	13. Epilogue

**

Epilogue

**   
  
"We are here to honour the memory of two recently departed friends, Henry McCoy and Pietro Maximoff. We all knew them in some aspect or other, whether it was as a colleague at work, a friend or a family member and we will all miss their absence. It was tragic that they were snatched away at such a young age, but we can rest easier, knowing that they have gone on to a better place, a place without pain or suffering. I would now like to ask some family and friends to say a few words to remember them by." Father Lewis stepped back from the podium as Lance walked up to speak on Pietro's behalf.  
"I knew Pietro as a colleague at work and as a close friend. He had overcome tremendous obstacles to get where he was today and he sacrificed so much to help others. He was a great friend and he helped me many times when I was in trouble. My deepest regret is that when he needed me the most, I couldn't help him.  
"Pietro, you're going to be sorely missed by all of us. We'll never forget you," Lance was silent for several seconds before returning to his seat where Tabitha gave him a quick hug.  
Several other people went up to the podium to speak about both Hank and Pietro, but Kitty wasn't really paying that close attention to what they were saying. All she could think about was Pietro's last words to her: 'I'll always be here for you'. She'd always known that there was a chance that Pietro would die on one of these missions, but it had never really sunk in, until now. Now that he was gone forever.  
After the service was over several people came over to talk to Kitty. Lance had already explained to her what had happened in Malaysia, and apologised for failing to rescue Pietro, but Kitty didn't blame Lance. She didn't blame anyone to tell the truth, she was too upset to think about whose fault it had been.  
Remy LeBeau and his wife, Marie, had been sitting next to Kitty - they'd flown over as soon as Kitty had phoned them with the news. Marie gave Kitty a hug and then Remy took Kitty aside. "If you want to get away from it all, just give me a call. We were planning on going on taking a trip to the Caribbean and you're more than welcome to come."  
"Thanks, but I've got too much stuff to do here, I think I'll have to pass on that one."  
"Well if you change your mind, you know where to contact us." Remy gave Kitty a hug, and followed Marie out of the church.  
Charles Xavier came up to Kitty, a mournful expression on his face. "Kitty, I know how hard this must be on you - losing a loved one is never easy. I just wanted you to know how much good Pietro did while working with Excalibur, like Lance said he helped millions of people working for us."  
"I know, and I'm not blaming Excalibur for Pietro's death. I knew it was only a matter of time anyway," Kitty sighed, and Xavier clasped her hand.  
"It hurts a lot now I know, I've been through the same thing. To be perfectly honest the pain never truly goes away. But that can be seen as a good thing, Pietro was such a wonderful person and you will never forget him. It'll seem hard, these next few weeks, but you've just got to keep going. Pietro wouldn't have wanted you to end up dying of a broken heart. You were one of the people he died to protect."  
"I know, and thank you," Kitty smiled and Xavier moved off to talk to some of Hank's family. Kitty turned to her friend Amanda, who was waiting next to her with her boyfriend, Kurt Wagner. "Let's go," Kitty said, and Amanda nodded.  
"We'll take you home," she said, taking Kitty by the hand and leading her out to their car. As Kitty and Amanda left, Remy approached Charles Xavier.

The apartment seemed so empty when Kitty returned home. She could vividly remember Pietro taking her out for their anniversary, and she sighed sadly. Moving into the kitchen, Kitty knew that she should probably be sorting through Pietro's effects, but she was really too depressed to start doing that yet.  
She sat down and poured herself a cup of coffee. Sipping it, she looked at the engagement ring that she still hadn't taken off. It was a gold band with a beautiful emerald set in the middle of it. As she stared at it Kitty could feel tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She pulled the ring off, set it on the kitchen table and reached for the phone. She needed to get away from here, and that Caribbean trip sounded like the perfect way to do it.

In the Excalibur headquarters Xavier looked over the case file one last time before filing it away. The US military had captured the survivors from Genoa who had made it to shore and they had been able to find out from them how Trask had destroyed Tokyo. He'd managed to develop an incredibly powerful laser, which had been mounted on an old US nuclear physics satellite. It had been the result of a lifetime of work for Trask and unfortunately it had worked all too well. At the moment a team was being assembled to retrieve the satellite and study its design, in order to put it to use to help keep the peace rather than murder thousands of innocents.  
  
Northern Finland was a desolate and windswept place, the last place you would have expected to see a lone man pulling a sled, which had a large crate on it. The man was short and powerfully built - every time he pulled on the sled's ropes the muscles in his arms and legs stood out. His thick dark hair was torn in a million directions at once by the wind, which whipped snowflakes into his eyes at such speed that they would have made a normal man look away. This man walked on unblinkingly.  
As he reached the crest of the hill he was climbing, the man paused for breath and heard, above the howling of the wind, the dull thumping of a helicopter engine. He glanced at his watch and nodded - right on time.  
Taking up the sled's ropes again he tramped through the snow for a few more minutes before coming to a clearing in the forest. A large helicopter was hovering above the clearing, powerful searchlights being trained on the ground to help it land. The man pulled the sled to the edge of the clearing and waited for the helicopter to land. When it had done so the main door of the helicopter was thrown open and a group of people approached the lone man.  
As they approached him the man saw that the lead figure was a woman, tall and thin, she wore a black greatcoat with an insignia the man couldn't make out in the darkness. She stopped several feet away before addressing him. "You have the goods?"  
"Right here," the man growled, waving a hand at the sled. The woman indicated two men, who dragged the sled forward and opened the top of the crate so that the woman could peer inside. What she saw obviously pleased her, because she nodded to the men who closed the crate and carried it over to the helicopter.  
"Excellent work, as usual." The woman turned on her heel and walked back to the helicopter.  
"What about my payment?" the man shouted gruffly.  
"About that... there's been a slight change of plan." The woman shouted back as she climbed aboard the helicopter and the engine started up again. The troops she had left on the ground suddenly raised their weapons and opened fire. If the man had been a second slower, he would have died where he stood. As it was he had already dived behind a snowdrift when the fire began, a machine gun in his hand.  
The man could hear the troops splitting up, and knew he had to deal with them quickly. He burst up from behind the snowdrift and opened fire, gunning down two of the startled troops before they could respond. A third snapped off a shot at him, which grazed his temple, drawing blood that dripped down the side of his face. The man turned his weapon on the third soldier before he could fire again and he was thrown backwards by the force of a dozen bullets.  
The snapping of a twig gave away the position of the soldier behind him, and the man turned and leapt forwards, knocking the soldier off his feet. As the soldier fumbled for a knife, the man whipped a blade from its sheath and plunged it into the soldier's heart. The soldier let out a gurgling moan, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth before he lay still.  
"Freeze!" The man looked up to see a soldier pointing his machine gun directly at him. The man dropped his blade and stood up slowly. The soldier was obviously unnerved by the violence, because his hands were shaking and in the wan moonlight the man could see that the soldier's face was a sickly green colour. The soldier moved forwards, keeping his gun trained on his captive but suddenly the man threw his right arm forwards. Before the soldier knew what was happening there was a knife embedded three inches into his heart. The soldier dropped to the floor, and the man stood still and listened.  
After five minutes he was satisfied there were no more soldiers around, and he headed off. No one who had double-crossed the Wolverine had ever survived, and the woman would be no different Logan vowed as he made his way back to civilisation.  
  
To be continued in... 'Tommorow Never Dies'  
  
Thank you DaemonRogue 13 for sticking with this story from start to finish, you have been a great inspiration and I'm very glad that you've enjoyed the story. Thank you for your review Karakin, I'm glad you liked the story and I'm glad that the story makes up for the character's lack of powers. And thank you to everyone else who reviewed this story, I'm glad that everyone's enjoyed it!


End file.
